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Oakland

Growing Up In Oakland

Kreayshawn: “I was born in San Francisco and raised out in Oakland. I moved to Oakland when I was like 10 years old. I moved out to L.A. recently. I grew up in East Oakland, in this area called the Murder Dubs [San Antonio district in Oakland, California]. I was growing up in places like Tenderloin, Fillmore, Mission. Oakland is ghetto. I’ve lost friends, done shit that probably would have never happened if I lived anywhere else.

“Before that I was moving a lot because my mom was young. Can you imagine a 20-year-old woman with a three year old? I don’t want to say, “Yo I was a mistake” or nothing like that, but it was definitely hard for a single mom to raise a kid.”

“My mom was in a punk rock band called The Trash Women and they toured and all of that. She had me when she was 17. Growing up, I was staying at home getting babysat [while she was on tour]. There was definitely times where I missed my mommy, but that’s kind of sad to talk about right? [Laughs.] She had her life and I learned to be independent.

“She always put music around me. She inspired me to do this. She loves [what’s happening with me now.] She was like, ‘I love listening to your mixtape every day when I drive to work.’ She’s always texting me with updates of new articles that are out about me. She’s definitely been living this life with me the past couple days. [Laughs.]”